Reference no: EM132326854

Public Health and Immunizations

Immunizations have recently become a very controversial topic. As public health professionals we need to consider this topic from multiple perspectives in order to make a recommendation that makes sense in light of our understanding of many complex factors including the biology of the disease, effective prevention strategies, cost, access, etc. In this week's DB we will explore whether vaccination should be mandatory for adults and/or for children. Additionally, we will consider other possible mechanisms for prevention and possible avenues for research that should be considered.

Choose one of the diseases that we are learning about this week and address the following critical elements in your initial reply:

1. Name of your selected disease and country of interest.

2. Descriptive details of public health significance including demographics, incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, likelihood of spreading, etc. Utilize the relative jargon we have been learning (e.g., case fatality rate [cfr]).

3. Prevention strategies currently available (vaccinations and other).

4. Adequacy of these strategies. Incorporate relative key terms like eradication potential, herd immunity, and the like (e.g., as they apply to your discussion. You may also include a Cost-Benefit analysis. Cost does not necessarily refer only to money).

5. Best practice suggestions. In other words, what do you think is the best way to effectively protect the susceptible population? If a vaccine is available, should immunization be mandatory?

Assignment

Imagine that you work for a state health department. Your supervisor has asked that you prepare a PPT for a 15-minute breakout session presentation at an upcoming professional conference for public health professionals. The PPT presentation should introduce your audience to a vaccine-preventable disease and how the vaccine works to prevent the disease. Your presentation should be geared to your professional audience, real world evidence-based, and demonstrate your clear understanding of the subject matter. The PPT presentation should be professional, scholarly, informative, on topic, biologically oriented, written in your own words (you can use bullet points) and contain appropriate and illustrative graphics. Choose sources that are current or recognized as a gold standard. Think about the logical order of exposition. At the minimum your PPT should include the following:

A. An introduction to the vaccine-preventable disease

a. What is the disease?

b. Who is at risk?

c. What are the symptoms?

d. Morbidity and mortality details.

e. Clinical manifestations?

f. What are the treatment options?

g. Incidence and prevalence statistics.

h. Other?

B. Information on the causative agent

a. What is the causative agent?

b. What is the pathogen's classification?

c. Mode of transmission

d. Other?

C. Body System Affected

a. Which body system is affected by the pathogen?

b. What is the role and function of this body system?

D. Pathophysiology

a. Describe disease etiology. What is going on, on the cellular level?

b. Describe pathogenesis and the pathophysiological impact of the disease.

c. Connect the pathophysiology with the symptoms.

E. Vaccine Details

a. What vaccines are available?

b. Vaccine details.

i. Vaccine type

ii. Administrative details, including who should be vaccinated and scheduling

iii. Possible side effects

iv. Effectiveness

c. How does the vaccine work to help restore homeostasis?

F. Conclusion